The Very Last Saturn Conjunct Neptune Article You Will Ever Read In Your Life
The next Saturn-Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries won't occur for approximately, uhm, 9,000-11,000 years. So how will your sign play it this time?
You’re reading WOODRUFF. I cover the convergence of pop culture, psychology, and astrology. Join my entourage of subscribers—you’ve been missed. My bio is here.
MATTER IMBUED WITH SPIRIT. Or better yet, spirit imbued with matter. What does that look like or feel like? My main takeaway is, unfortunately, another question: What provokes us to make this sort of division in the first place? Don’t you sense that Saturn-Neptune is asking this question of each of us right now? And you know, this kind of questioning can be applied to any dichotomy. Which is good news. I mean, we are living through one of the most aggressively divisive periods in human history.
One of my main takeaways from years of reading the rogue metaphysical author, Robert Anton Wilson, was his attempt to limit his use of the word ‘is’ in everyday discourse. He said that ‘is’—a form of the verb ‘to be’—was one of the most poisonous words—in any language. He believed it promoted rigid, dogmatic thinking and confused the map with the territory. Furthermore, he would regularly practice beginning assertive sentences with, “It seems that blah blah…” or “Maybe we can look at it like...”
Throughout the Saturn-Neptune conjunction window (officially between about five minutes ago and the 20th of this month), observe how you apply the word ‘is.’ Feel how it stiffens and limits and paints your communication into a cul-de-sac of opinions and dogma—which then promotes the necessity to defend that thinking.
As I’ve mentioned several times in this newsletter, my astro-sense of the conjunction is that we ought not rely on what the past has told us about Saturn and Neptune merging. Why? Well, it has a lot to do with the conjunction converging at the mysterious zero degree of Aries. And Aries, as a function, says, “Please think for yourself!” As I wrote recently:
“I’m anticipating how the conjunction signals for us to leave behind the cacophonous noise of online experts, wellness authorities, life coaches, longevity gurus, and how-to mavens. The 30-year ‘influencer’ realm is part and parcel of the long Neptune transits through Aquarius and Pisces. Let it pass away.”
What do you come up with when you feel into or imagine the ‘neutral number’? It seems to me that zero counters the notion of origin and leaves us hanging with life’s big questions—which humans are constantly trying to explain and then convince others of their takes. Consider this notion from U.G. Krishnamurti:
“There may be no creation at all. Why fix that point?”
Hello!
However you answer the zero question will reveal much about the unique nature of this conjunction. My first impression of zero? Its shape—the circle. My dad used to have this poem by Edwin Markham (1852-1940) taped to the wall in his workshop:
“They drew a line that shut me out, Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout! But love and I had the wit to win We drew a circle and brought them in.”
In a funny, synchronic way, this poem is very Saturn-Neptune in its motif. Exclusion and inclusion. With humanism, one of Neptune’s greatest gifts, the wild card principle.
At a core level, Saturn and Neptune share one characteristic in common: aspiration. Saturn, as a stand-in for science, assists us as we aspire to understand the material world. Neptune reminds us that the material world includes other modes of perception that need not negate the corporeal. Neptune inspires us to see through the too-tight grip of literalism. There’s no need to set one planet against the other when it comes to the aspirational drive.
The definitions of the word aspiration are interesting when considered through the different planetary lenses. From the Saturnine we get, “…a strong desire to achieve something high or great.” And from the Neptunian, there’s, “…a drawing of something in, out, up, or through.” Out, up, and through—the beyond. Holy shit.
The Sun in our horoscope relates to our aspiration. The solar principle is constant—right up until our last breath. The Sun doesn’t give off heat and light for a designated amount of time and then take a break to contemplate the moment; it’s more about continual aspiration-radiation-illumination. A car’s engine doesn't analyze the forward motion it’s creating—the combustion happens and the momentum follows. It’s with that in mind that I’ve put some notes together to remind each zodiac sign of its essential aspirations. Take these as seed ideas that you can include in your contemplation of the big zero.
Happy new era, everybody!